Coin-receiving apparatus



(No Model.)

' C. C.'CLAWSON.

GOIN RECEIVING APPARATUS.

UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' CLEMENT o. cLAwsoN, or NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.`

COIN-RECEIVING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters PatentNo. 517,840, dated April 10, 1894.

Application iiled October 1'7, 1.893. Serial No. 48.8,3671 (No model.) l

To @ZZ whom it my'concern:

Be it known that I, CLEMENT C. CLAwsoN, acitizen of the United States, residing at Newark,in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Coin-Receiving Apparatus for Use in Selling; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

This invention relates more particularly to apparatus for receiving coins in exchange for articles to be delivered or for services to be rendered, which apparatus comprise an in-l spection chamber above a coin box with coin discharging means between them and with suitable openings for admitting the introduc- -tion of coins into said inspection chamber; but each of the improvements constituting the invention is intended for all the uses -to which it may be adapted.

In accordance'with the invention, a coin introducer in the'form of a pocket or series of pockets with closed bottoms is arranged at the entrance to the inspection chamber and is made movable from a position to receive the coin into a position to dump vthe same into said chamber; and this coin introducer is connected with the coin-discharging means between the inspection chamber and money box so that the coin introducer and the coin-discharging means are moved together.

Further in accordance with the invention, a coin receiver is arrangedabove the coin introducer with one or more pockets having closed bottoms; and the said introducer so long as it is not in the receiving position is adapted to retain any coins which may be placed in said receiver. The receiver is best formed by a slotted plate beneath which turns the introducer in the form of a cylinder with pockets cut out ofthe same, leaving a coin sustaining surface adjacent thereto of sufficient extent to close the bottoms of the slots while the pockets are reversing and dumping the coins. When the introducer is in the dumping position coins placed in the slots rest upon said surface; but when this ismoved aside and the pockets come under the slots the coins drop into said pockets.

Further the invention consists' in operating coin-discharging means in the form of a hinged table by a cam or device suitable for moving the said table but preventing a quick reciprocation oripping of the said table by which the customer might be lable to turn over a coin after introduction.

Another improvement consists in providing coin introducing means adapted to hold and discharge two or more coins side by side and parallel with each other (in contradistinction lto coins edge to edge and in the same plane), and an intercepter or intercepters under said means transverse to the planes of said coins. Awire or intercepter which forms an edge-like obstruction to the fall of the coin is best adapted for the purpose, but the use vof other intercepters in the same combination would be within the invention.

A further improvement consists in inclining at an angle the glass front of the inspection chamber adjacent to the hinged table or other coin support in said chamber, the inclination of the glass being such as to bring the glass more nearly over the coins toward the top. In other words the glass in front adjacent to the coins as they lie in the inspection chamber, slopes upwardly toward the back of the chamber. The portion of the front above this inwardly and upwardly inclined glass is made to terminate at the upper edge of said glass, so that on the inside there is no shelf extending down over the said glass which would tend to bring the coins to the back of the coin-supporting table instead of allowing them to fall as near as may be to the front and under the said inwardly and upwardly inclined glass. This arrangement enables the `coins to be seen much more distinctly by reflected light (that is with the front of the inspection chamber facing the light) than a vertical glass.

,The invention also comprises such additional improvements, constructions, combinations and arrangements as are hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings which form part of this specification and illustrate what is considered the best mode of carrying the invention into effect, Figure I is a front elevation of a coin receiving apparatus constructed in accordance with the invention. Fig. Il is a vertical section of the same parallel with the plane of Fig. I. Fig. III is a vertical section of the same on line III looking in the direction of the arrow; and Fig. IV is a section similar to the last on line IV looking in the direction of the arrow annexed thereto.

The money box A is a chamber with a door and lock below the inspection chamber B, a movable table C being arranged between them to form the coin support when in the position shown and the coin-discharging means when turned. It is shown as hinged at 2 and is held in the coin-supporting position by the spring 3. The coin introducer D at the entrance to the inspection chamber is provided with pockets 4t having closed bottoms. It is shown as mounted onjournals 5 turning in bearings in the side walls 6 of theinspection chamber, and movable from a position with the mouths of the pockets up (to receive the coins) into a position with the mouths of the pockets down (the latter position being represented on the drawings) to dump the coins into the inspection chamber. A wheel 7 on one of the journals serves to turn the coin introducer. By the use of closed-bottom pockets (that is pockets not necessarily Without holes but sufficiently closed at the bottom to keep the coins from falling through) the necessity of a stationary shelf to retain the coins in the pockets when in the receiving position is avoided. The coin introducer is connected with the coin discharging means (table C) by the cam E and rod 8 which is jointed to the table C, is guided by the eye 9 and is pressed against the cam E by the spring 3.

The coin introducer could be arranged to receive the coins directly; butit is an advantage and a special improvement to provide a coin receiver above it, which receiver is shown as constituted by the slotted plateF (forming the top of the inspection chamber) in conjunction with the surface 10 of the introducer D adjacent to the mouths of the pockets 4c, which surface sustain the coins in the slots 11 until the pockets are brought under the same, when the coins drop into the pockets.

The turning of the introducer D into the coin receiving position causes the cam E to turn the table C to discharge the coins which may be thereon. After receiving the coins the introducer is reversed to dump them into the inspection chamber, when they fall upon the table C, which has been restored by the cam E permitting the spring 3 to draw up the rod 8 and table C. By actuating the table C through a cam, a customer cannot hip the table C so as to reverse the position of a coin thereon.

The pockets in the coin introducer could be arranged to receive two or more coins edge to edge in a row; but it is advantageous to arrange the pockets to hold the coins face to face parallel to each other, and such arrangement (as also a like arrangement of the slots 11) is shown. An intercepter G (or intercepters if preferred) is arranged below the coin introducer transverse to the planes of the coins, so that each coin will strike the intercepter as it falls and thus aid in prevent ing a customer from making the coins occupy a position on table O desired by him.

The front and back of the inspection chamber are preferably of glass; and in order that the coins on table C may be seen more clearly, irrespective of the point from which the light comes, the glass 12 of the front adjacent to the table C is inclined in the direction best shown in Figs. III and IV, that is to say t0 slope up inwardly or in the direction to overlie the table C. Witha vertical glass in the front the coins are not so readily visible by reflected light, as when seen through theinclined glass 12 The upper part 13 of the front may be variously arranged, but should terminate at the upper edge of the inwardly and upwardly inclined glass 12 in order not to act as a deflector to cause the coins to pass to the back of the table C; it being desirable that the coins should lie as near as may be to the glass 12.

It is advantageous to make the part 12 of a separate pane of glass from the part 13, and provide grooves 111 and 15 in the inner faces of the sides 6 for theedges of the panes. This arrangement allows common glass to be used for the front, and enables the owner of the machine to replace a broken glass without difficulty. A strip 16 is shown to conceal the joint between the `two panes.

The apparatus would generally stand with the coin introducerD and coin table C in the position shown. The customer places his coins in the slots 11 they resting on the surface 10 of the introducer; and the attendant through the wheel 7 turns the introducer D into position to allow the coins to drop into the pockets, wherein they are retained by the closed bottoms of the pockets. Through the camE and rod 8 the attendant at the same time tilts the table C to discharge thecoins thereon into the boX A. The attendant then moves the coin introducer into the position shown and turns camE so as to allow spring 3 to return the table C in time to catch the coins, which being dumped from the pockets fall against the intercepter G and finally come to rest on table C and can be inspected through the inclined glass 12.

The pockets of the fourth and eighth clauses of claim following could be open-bottomed or close-bottomed, the latterbeing preferred and more particularly intended.

The plate with parallel slots and the transverse intercepter or intercepters could be used with or without the new coin introducer or other device between the slots and intercepter.

I claim as my invention or discovery- 1. The combination with an inspection chamber, and coin-discharging means at the exit from said chamber, of a coin introducer with closed-bottom coin-holding pockets at the entrance to said chamber movable into coin-receiving and coin-dumping positions ICO IIO

and adapted to close the direct entrance to said chamber inboth positions, and connections between said coin introducer at the entrance and the coin-discharging means at the exit of said chamber whereby the discharge of coins from said chamber is eected when the coin introducer is in coin-receiving position, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a chamber, and a coin introducer with closed-bottom coin-holding pockets at thel entrance to said chamber, of a coin receiver above the said coin "introducer with its bottom constituted thereby, substantially as described.

3. The combination with an inspection chamber, coin-discharging means at the exit from said chamber, and a coin introducer with closed-bottom coin-holding pockets at the entrance to said chamber, of a coin receiver arranged above the said coin introducer and having its ybottom constituted thereby, and connections between said coin introducer and said coin-discharging means whereby the discharge of coins from said chamber is edected while the said coinintroducer is in coin-receiving position, substantially as described. Y

4. The coin introducer having pockets and a coin-sustaining surface adjacent to the mouths thereof, in combination with an inspection chamber having a slotted top above said coin introducer, the said top being made to form a coin receiver by the said coin-sustaining surface constituting a temporary bottom to the slots in said top While the said coin introducer is in the coin-delivering position, n

substantially as described.

5. The combination with an inspection chamber, a coin introducer, and coin-discharging means, of operating mechanism connected with said introducer and said discharging means and comprising a shaft on which said introducer is mounted a cam on said shaft and connections from the said cam to the said discharging means, substantially as described.

6. The combination with an inspection chamber, of means arranged to hold and discharge two or more coins in a parallel position (that is face to face) and an intercepter in said chamber transverse to the plane of said coins, substantially as described.

7. The` combination with an inspection chamber o1' a coin introducer having two or more parallel pockets (that is pockets arranged face to face) movable with the said lintroducer of which they form a part and an CLEMENT o. oLAwsoN.

Witnesses: v

vPHILIP W. CROSS, DENIS D. MULCAHY. 

